In the past, trying to "short sell" your home has been an unbelieveble nightmare for both seller and buyer, to the point that it just didn't make sense. This article from the Wall Street Journal may indicate that relief is on the way from Fannie Mae. I would recommend some degree of skepticism as government policy can frequently sound good, but the implementation...? That can be an entirely different matter. Let's hope!

Daily Real Estate News | January 9, 2009 | Share
Fannie Tries Short Sales Over Foreclosures
Fannie Mae has launched pilot projects in Phoenix and Orlando intended to reduce foreclosures by pre-approving short sales, agreeing on a price and the loss it will take prior to a deal even being made. It is hoped the program will improve the popularity of short sales among real estate agents.

Property professionals initially had welcomed short sales but soon found the process to be a frustrating one--due to squabbling about the sale price and slow approval times by the mortgage companies--that often ended with no sale at all.

"Short sales have received such a bad reputation among real-estate agents that, as a portion of the overall mortgage market, they have gone down," says Tom Popik of the research firm Campbell Communications, whose November survey of realty practitioners found that agents had to wait as long as 8.1 weeks to receive a response from the lender on a short sale. That was nearly double the 4.5 weeks the process took earlier in the year.

Fannie Mae's pilot will focus on homes that are listed at less than the mortgage balance and carry a Fannie Mae-backed loan serviced by Countrywide Financial Corp.
If it proves successful, the concept could be expanded to other geographical areas and additional lenders. There are concerns, in the meantime, about the program's success, with real estate agents noting that property prices could decline before the pre-approval is issued.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Nick Timiraos (01/09/09)

© Copyright 2009 Information Inc.

Do you have any information on the success of loan modification for military homeowners facing PCS?

My husband is being relocated to a new duty station. After putting 20% down and doing the prudent higher interest fixed rate loan, we are still upside-down on our mortgage 30K. (Tama, FL housing market)
When we move, the housing allowance will change and we will lose $1100 a month in my husband's income. I will also be out of work after the PCS with little chance of finding new work in the current ecomony. We are current on payments and can make the payment fine until we move.

We can't refiance because we don't have $50K cash on hand to pay the upside down balance plus 20% of the current value. In our current situation our fianance look fine, but come PCS, we will be in a mess.

A loan modification may be possible I suggest you speak with your lender and a mortgage broker.

You do not meet the criteria for a short sale, not at the moment it sounds, and of course would like to keep it that way.

Renting in this market is also tough. There may be some renting techniques that are not the "norm" but may be an assist in mitigating some of the loss of income for you, particularly if you live near a military base, college, or hospital. Feel free to contact me, I am a retired Marine and have been where you are. I have had the pleasure of moving more often than I care to remember. I am also a licensed realtor as well as a real estate investor. Maybe I can give you some ideas on the renting side.

DO talk to your lender and or a broker. My email is: boggsjt@comcast.net

All the best!

Semper Fi!

Would like to add onto what our friend John has offered on this situation. You noted that you have a "higher fixed interest rate loan" and had put a substantial amount down. If your loan is a VA or FHA, you may be able to "streamline" the refinancing of the loan. These are the only loans which will refi 100% of the balance IF the loan to value is at least 100%, which is likely given your money down. Since the VA rates are extremely low, I would contact my lender IMMEDIATELY. If you can streamline, then you will not have to pay the funding fee (2.5%) and settlement costs are minimal.

Or, if it isn't a VA, you may want to consider refinancing VA even if you have to pay the funding fee. It may be rolled into the loan. In either case, the real expert on this is our friend Susan Wallace. She consults with a number of folks with inquiries on this site. Her phone number is: 571 283-1337. email: Susan@susan-w.com You can access her web site by clicking her picture on the left of your screen.

We hope this helps and please let us know if you have further questions and / or how this works out. Joe Gladden, managing partner, VR SAM

PS, rereading your note. If you do have to go loan mod, most lenders are more than willing to consider given the alternatives and their costs. If you have one mortgage, you have a better chance than if you have a second trust / mortgage on the property.

But, I would not assume you are 30K upside down unless you have a competent market analysis and /or appraisal.

Joe

Suggest you call Dave Bryan at the number below.  He does free intitial consults and a has done excellent work for our clients.  He is currently working a BOA short sale and may be able to offer some valuable insight.  

(540) 341-7543

his email:  dbryan@hhfnd.org

Joe